ALBUQUERQUE, NM—Today, pending appeal, the Supreme Court of the United States blocked the implementation of portions of the omnibus anti-abortion bill, HB 2, a Texas law that would force all but 9 clinics in Texas to close. Representatives for clinics in Texas sought the emergency stay from the Supreme Court to prevent the law from going into effect on July 1, and are now preparing to appeal the constitutionality of the Fifth Circuit Appeals Court decision upholding HB 2.

“As neighbors to Texas, we are happy that this harmful law will not be able to go into effect immediately,” said ACLU of New Mexico Legal Director Alexandra Freedman Smith. “These politically-motivated laws are designed to drive abortion providers out of the communities they serve and take away a woman’s access to healthcare. Laws that callously put the health and safety of women at risk have no place anywhere in our country.”

If implemented, HB 2 would place strict regulations on clinics, requiring that all abortion clinics in the state to qualify as “ambulatory surgical centers” and all doctors performing abortions to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. These types of laws are onerous and medically unnecessary regulations designed to restrict access to safe and legal abortion are known as TRAP laws—Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers. Major medical associations, including the American Medical Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, oppose these types of restrictions.

Had the law gone into effect, there would be no abortion clinic in the State of Texas west of San Antonio, forcing many women to drive hundreds of miles to New Mexico to access a safe and legal abortion.

“A woman shouldn’t have to drive hundreds of miles and cross state lines to access a safe and legal abortion,” said Smith. “A woman in Texas should be able to receive care in her own community, and her doctors should be able to provide health care without fear that targeted, malicious regulations will shutter their medical practice.”

###

ALBUQUERQUE, NM—Today, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down a historic decision that guarantees same-sex couples the freedom to marry and equal respect for their marriages across America. This ruling is the final nationwide victory to the decades-long freedom to marry movement, ending the state-by-state patchwork of marriage laws and establishing marriage equality as the law of the land.

“Today’s ruling is a historic victory for freedom, equality, inclusion, and above all love,” said Laura Schauer Ives, one of the ACLU attorneys who litigated Griego v. Oliver, the court case that established the freedom to marry in New Mexico in 2013. “We in New Mexico can be proud in knowing that, as the 17th state to legalize marriage for same-sex couples, we played an important role in advancing this issue on the national stage to where we are today.”

Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court consolidated six cases from four states on the issue of marriage equality. The ACLU represented clients in two of the six cases, Bourke v. Beshear, a federal court challenge to Kentucky’s constitutional ban on marriage for same-sex couples, and Obergefell v. Hodges, a case filed in Ohio that presents the question of whether the Fourteenth Amendment requires a state to recognize a same-sex marriage validly licensed by another state. The Supreme Court’s ruling today establishes that state bans on marriage for same-sex couples are unconstitutional, and all states must recognize valid same-sex marriages just as they would opposite-sex marriages.

More than fifty courts ruled in favor of marriage equality following the Supreme Court’s watershed 2013 decision in United States v. Windsor that struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act. In January 2015, the high court granted review of an aberrant Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that upheld marriage bans in the four states – the first appeals court to do so after Windsor.

"Today is a high point in decades of struggle for millions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans," said Ives. "It is a day for celebration, but the struggle is not yet over. In many places, LGBT Americans still face discrimination in housing, employment, medical care, and other basic areas of life. Our work continues until LGBT people enjoy the same dignity, respect, and equality under the law as anyone else."

DEMING, NM — The ACLU of New Mexico today announced a positive resolution to a discrimination complaint made by a group of LGBT customers against the Denny’s restaurant in Deming, NM.  The complaint arose when the individuals alleged that they were refused service because of their sexual orientation and that the group was subjected to discriminatory verbal abuse.  Jim Mathieu, the local franchise owner and operator of the Denny’s restaurant in Deming, engaged in settlement negotiations to show his support for the group and that the restaurant values all of its diverse customers.

“We are very pleased to have resolved this matter for our clients,” said Brian Moore, cooperating attorney for the ACLU of New Mexico. “It is clear to us that Denny’s is committed to ensuring that all people are welcomed in their restaurants.”

“Denny’s does not tolerate any discrimination in our organization, and we take any claims to the contrary very seriously,” said Jim Mathieu, local franchise owner and operator of Denny’s in Deming, NM.  “While we disagree with the specifics of the incident, our priority is on ensuring our guests are heard and therefore we worked diligently with Deming Pride and the ACLU of New Mexico to reach this resolution for all.  We wish the best for our guests who were involved in this case.”

Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Jim Mathieu has agreed to:

• Provide his employees with extra training on non-discrimination
• Confirm that company discrimination policies comply with state law
• Donate $13,000 to Deming Pride, a local non-profit and charity that promotes diversity and tolerance in the community
• Provide $3,250 to the woman who alleges she was verbally abused by a Denny’s employee.

###